Matrix Upper-Intermediate Tests
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Test 4
Test 5
Achievement Test 1
Test 6
Test 7
Test 8
Test 9
Test 10
Achievement Test 2
Test 7
Reading
1 Choose from sentences a-g the one which fits each gap 1-6. There is one sentence you do not need.
a I knew that if I was feeling lonely, I could spend half an hour in a cyber cafe and walk out happy.b When I arrived there, I'd queue, snatch my letters from a nonchalant official, and take them away, elated.
c As I made my way around the country on a series of buses, I wrote long and scarcely legible letters to my friends and family, detailing people, places and adventures.
d It bought me more joy than a host of emails ever could.
e It's fun receiving these, even though you know that the message hasn't been written specially for you.
f Moreover, letters can take a long time to reach you.
g They will instantly be transported back to a world where Auntie Jean is coming to lunch, and where close friends talk about their latest romances.
Keeping in touch
Ten years ago, I went to Australia on my own. I had recently left school, and it was my first time out of Europe. 1______ I'd calculate where I might be when they got around to replying, and request a letter back to the appropriate post office. 2______Today homesick travellers simply wait to access Hotmail on a computer. 3______The news from home is comforting, but it takes away something from |he heart of a big trip. Recently I travelled round the world for a year, and this tifne I found email just about everywhere. Of course, I was delighted. 4______And I visited them often. I emailed my mum from Lhasa, high up on the Tibetan plateau, from Pakistan, India, Vietnam and Mongolia. Because of the pressure of time, backpackers frequently write a newsletter and email it to everyone they know. 5______On my first trip to Australia, however, what I really loved was going to collect letters. I remember sitting down outside a post office and reading a long letter from my best friend, telling me all her news from university. 6______ Maybe I'm just being nostalgic, but I felt that, in cutting myself off from everything and everyone I knew, I had earned my letters.Vocabulary
2 Choose the best answer, a, b, c or d, to complete the sentences.
1 My friend was so excited about going to the USA, I think everyone within_____on the bus must have heard all about it as well as me!- a notice
b listening
c earshot
d distance
- a gap
b break
c interval
d between
- a taking on
b taking off
c taking away
d taking over
- a thoughts
b expectations
c inclinations
d ideas
- a developed
b mature
c ready
d complete
- a idea
b point
c name
d word
- a source
b origin
c beginning
d start
- a extract
b essence
c summary
d survey
- a pick on
b pick off
c pick away
d pick up
3 Complete the sentences using the correct form of the word in brackets.
1 I am going to London at Easter, have you any ______________for shopping? (recommend)2 The nearest village to my uncle's house is four miles away, his farm is very______________. (isolate)
3 The original building was destroyed in a fire; the current building is a______________. (reconstruct)
4 I love reading science fiction because you are ______________into a strange and exciting world. (transport)
5 There has been a_____________on the River Thames for over 2000 years. (settle)
6 Aspirin is very_____________when you have a headache. (effect)
7 In the latest modern_____________of Romeo and Juliet, the main characters drive around on motorbikes. (produce)
8 Some of the many islands around the coast of Britain no longer have any______________. (inhabit)
9 My friend's house is ideally_________if you want to explore London, she lives only five minutes from the underground station. (situate)
10 British supermarkets sell a great deal of ______________fruit and vegetables. (import)
Grammar
4 Some of these sentences contain a mistake. Circle the mistakes and correct them on the following line.
1 I was having my car window broken last night, luckily nothing was stolen.2 You needn't have bothered to have your car washed, it has just started to rain!
3 Where did you get your computer mended? Mine has just broken down.
4 I must have my hair cutting.
5 Our neighbours are having a new barbecue delivered last week.
6 I want to have my photo taken for my passport. Do you know where I could have got it done?
7 I haven't had my bedroom painted yet as I can't decide what colour I want.
5 Put each verb in brackets into its correct passive form to complete the text.
For centuries, people 1______________ (fascinate) by travel to isolated places. And as television can bring these places into our homes, more and more of us want to go somewhere different. In areas which we know to be vulnerable, however, tourist travel 2______________ (limit). It is important that if, for example, an area is home to severely endangered wildlife, it 3______________ (protect). Tourists do not always take care of the environments they visit: many beaches 4______________ (cover) in rubbish at the end of each day and some coral reefs 5_________ (damage) in recent years by divers and swimmers. 70 years ago, travel by air 6______________(consider) exotic. These days, catching a plane is not unusual, and as access to remote areas in recent years 7_______________ (make) easier, it is even more important that we understand the need to behave responsibly. Since future generations 8______________(attract) to beautiful places, we need to ensure that there is something left for them to enjoy.Writing
6 Write a review (200-250 words) of a book or TV programme.
Include:• a brief description of the concept / plot
• details of the main characters
• what you thought of it
• why you thought this
Speaking
Exchanging information: in the tourist office
Preparation time: 1 minute. Work in pairs.
You have about 2 minutes to exchange the following information:
Student AYou have a holiday job booking accommodation in a tourist office.
• Find out the customer's requirements.
• Offer the customer a room just outside the city centre.
• Offer the customer an alternative room in the city centre.
• Give the customer details of how to get to the hotel. You speak first.
Student B
You are a tourist looking for accommodation.
• Explain to the person in the tourist office what kind of room you are looking for.
• Explain that you need a room in the city centre.
• Accept the alternative suggestion and ask for details of how to get there.
• Thank the person in the office.
Wait for your partner to speak first.
Test 7 Answers
1 1c 2b 3g 4a 5e 6d2 1c 2a 3b 4b 5b 6d 7a 8c 9d
3 1 recommendations 2 isolated 3 reconstruction
4 transported 5 settlement 6 effective 7 production
8 inhabitants 9 situated 10 imported
4 1 Mistake: was having. Correct: had my car broken into last night.
2 Correct
3 Correct
4 Mistake: cutting. Correct: I must have my haircut.
5 Mistake: are having. Correct: Our neighbours had a new barbecue delivered last week.
6 Mistake: could have got. Correct: Do you know where I could have / get it done?
7 Correct
5 1 have been fascinated 2 is limited / has been limited
3 is protected 4 are covered 5 have been damaged
6 was considered 7 is made / has been made
8 will be attracted